This was another assignment for the Graphic Design course at the New York Institute of Art and Design. 

The assignment was to create a book design using only vector graphics for a book of our choosing. I chose Gone with the Wind, one of my favorite novels, and created a design featuring Scarlett O’Hara’s beautiful plantation home, with cotton fields in the distance.

The design is created using a warm orange analogous color scheme, to give the viewer a feeling of being in the old south (Atlanta, Georgia), where the story takes place. Having lived in Atlanta, I know it is warm, humid, and filled with reddish-brown soil that is rich with clay. This is the atmosphere that is conveyed in this color scheme.

Color is used to simulate three-dimensional space in the stylized cotton fields behind the plantation-style house. The cotton and leaves in the row in the back are darker and less vibrant, thus appearing farther away. The pathway to the house also has a gradient which begins dark and rich, and fades away, to simulate that the house is in the distance.

The entire cover is conceptually unified by the central theme of a cotton plantation, which is the main setting of the novel. The house is designed as an old, southern plantation house; there are rows of cotton on either side, and appearing to be behind the house, as well. In front of the house are rows of tilled soil, and a farm picket fence. To balance the design, there are an even number of cotton balls on both sides, as well as leaves; though, to add interest, some of the leaves are placed slightly differently and are slightly different sizes. Light stylized clouds surround the title of the novel, balancing out the whole design - they add some weight to the top half of the design without distracting from the text. This design also has visual unity due to its analogous color scheme and the simplified, clean style of all elements in the picture.

The house itself is center-aligned, so as to emphasize its importance to the viewer. The front columns are more vibrant, while the wall in the back is a lighter color, to create the illusion of three-dimensional space. 

A slight drop shadow was added to all the text, enhancing legibility.

Overall, this design represents the novel well, as it captures the feeling of being in the old south, and puts Scarlett O'Hara's house front and center (an important part of the book) while maintaining a sense of balance and unity.

The requirements of the assignment were as follows:

Use a Template

Vector Format

AI File Format

Achieve unity with 2 or more elements and principles

Use an analogous color scheme

Use color to create or enhance a simulated three-dimensional space

Describe your work objectively

Use the Pen and Anchor Point Tools to create vector artwork

Duplicate an object and use Transform Tools to modify it

Align a series of objects using the Align Panel

Create and modify clipping mask to mask artwork

Modify the positive/negative space relationships of an object using the Pathfinder Panel

Achieve unity with 3 or more elements and principles